The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 178 Song of Injustice

"Does this Yansheng Duke have to die?"

"Yes, Kong Yinzhi and Xu Hongru both have to die."

Kang Yingqian knew this would be the result, but he couldn't help but try to persuade her.

Marquis Ping Liao seemed to have an inexplicable hatred towards the new Duke Yansheng, and this hatred was irreconcilable.

In Lao Kang's opinion, there is no need for that.

You came to Shandong not to fight for your life, how can you make money by fighting for your life?
"I remember that General Liu is from Xiangyang Prefecture, which is more than a thousand miles away from Shandong. What is your grudge against the Kong family in Qufu? Could you please tell me about it?"

Liu Zhaosun shook his head.

"No injustice, no enmity."

Kang Yingqian asked in surprise, "Is it just for the villagers of Liujia Village?"

Liu Zhaosun shook his head.

"If that's the case, why kill them all?"

Liu Zhaosun was silent.

Yes, to be fair, he had no grudges against Duke Yansheng of Qufu, and he had never even met Kong Yinzhi.

Yes, what I saw and heard in Liujia Village before deeply hurt me.

However, with thirteen provinces in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty and billions of people, where in the world is not Liujia Village?
Liu Zhaosun thought for a while and believed that all the hatred was simply because the actions of the Yansheng Dukes of all generations were contrary to the great principles he advocated.

The 64th Duke of Yansheng, Kong Yinzhi, needs to pay for the crimes of his father and grandfather, that is, pay with his life.

"I have no grudges against the Kong family, but I feel unfair! Duke Yansheng considers himself a descendant of a saint, enjoying all the benefits, yet he behaves like a beast. This is unfair."

Kang Yingqian clapped his hands and laughed, "How funny! There are so many injustices in the world. Can General Liu handle it all?"

Liu Zhaosun thought of the anonymous Yuan Dynasty poem "Song of Unfairness" and muttered to himself:
"Don't send the demon army to kill the unjust. The unjust will kill the unjust. The unjust will kill the unjust. Kill all the unjust and there will be peace!"

After saying that, he looked up at Kang Yingqian with bright eyes.

"Lord Kang, do you remember what I said to you at the foot of Shenyang City after we defeated the Jiannu?"

Kang Yingqian thought for a while and asked tentatively.

"You mean to let me take over all the brothels after we annex Liaodong?"

Liu Zhaosun laughed and said seriously:
"I told you at the time that the battle would not stop, and destroying the Jiannu was only the first step."

Kang Yingqian looked confused.

Reason told Liu Zhaosun that after looting the Confucius Mansion, it would be best to send Kong Yinzhi to Wendeng in the name of protecting Duke Yansheng, put him under his own surveillance, and worship him as a mascot.

With the presence of Duke Yansheng, we can attract scholars from all over the world to Wendeng and use them for our own purposes.

Compared to killing directly, nurturing is obviously more clever and has better results. After all, in this era, power is concentrated in the hands of scholars. With their support, rebellion or usurpation of the throne will be much smoother.

However, time travelers have never been good at calculating or considering the gains and losses.

He could accept his own collusion with a group of officials and making various political deals with them, but he could not accept the continued existence of the freak Yanshenggong.

How can this beast who exploited the people, licked the Qing Dynasty's boots, and took the lead in calling for shaving hair and changing clothes have the nerve to call himself a descendant of Confucius?
If we allow such people to continue to live in the world and be accomplices of the evil, then what is the difference between ourselves and beasts!
Kang Yingqian wanted to persuade him, but Liu Zhaosun said sternly:

"No need to say more, this matter has been decided!"

"When Kong Yinzhi is brought to the county government office later, I will personally kill him! Supervisor Kang will be responsible for handling the aftermath and hand it over to the Wenxiang Sect."

"Why do you always let me handle the funeral? I don't run a coffin shop!" Kang Yingqian muttered twice and nodded helplessly.

Although he strongly disapproved of killing Duke Yansheng, seeing Liu Zhaosun's attitude, he couldn't say anything more.

Liu Zhaosun changed the subject and said with a smile:
"How is County Magistrate Jiang? Is he willing to help me?" Kang Yingqian was pleased when he finally mentioned the County Magistrate of Qufu.
"Of course I'm willing to help. County Magistrate Jiang and Duke Yansheng have a bad relationship. They are like fire and water. According to General Liu's request, I gave him two thousand taels of silver. He has offended the Kong family and can't make any money in Qufu. Seeing the silver we got, he was very happy."

Jiang Fang had served as magistrate in Qufu for three years and could have been promoted this year, but somehow he offended the new Duke of Yansheng. As soon as Kong Yinzhi inherited the title, he contacted the censors in the capital and impeached Magistrate Jiang for corruption and tyranny. Jiang Fang's performance evaluation was ranked poor, and he lost the chance for promotion.

This Duke Yansheng was too bullying. Legend has it that Kong Yinzhi slapped County Magistrate Jiang in the lobby of the county government office and instigated his servants to occupy more than 300 acres of public land in Qufu. All the clerks in the county government office were bribed by the Kong family. County Magistrate Jiang, an outsider with no roots, was so angry that he could only stare blankly. Only then did he realize how powerful the Kong family of Qufu was.

Liu Zhaosun naturally could not have imagined that Kong Yinzhi, who had been fawning on the Qing Dynasty, was so full of martial virtue that he could even slap the county magistrate in public.

"So, he agreed?"

"Of course I agreed! County Magistrate Jiang hates Duke Yansheng to the core. What he fears most now is Kong Yinzhi's impeachment, saying that the city was breached by the Wenxiang Sect. I suspect that the Kong family will submit an impeachment memorial. The Jinyiwei and the imperial guards will soon arrive in Shandong. According to Ming Dynasty law, the loss of a city is a capital crime. County Magistrate Jiang has no connections and no money to bribe, so he will not be able to escape death."

Liu Zhaosun nodded in agreement. Jiang Fang’s experience once again refreshed his three views.

It seems that not all officials can become corrupt officials. Corrupt officials also need certain capital.

Some people want to be greedy but have no connections. Others, like County Magistrate Jiang, have offended local powerful families and are lucky to keep their lives, let alone make money.

This person now regards Ping Liaohou as his life-saving straw and wants to share some military merits with him to keep his official hat.

"What he meant was that as long as we could help him and save his family's lives, he would obey the adults' orders and stay in Shandong, and help us fool the court."

Liu Zhaosun chuckled. It seemed that County Magistrate Jiang was really anxious.

Kang Yingqian picked up the teacup and started to keep the secret again.

"General Liu, Magistrate Jiang said he has a big gift for you."

"Oh, what's the big gift?"

Liu Zhaosun was nonchalant. He didn't think the impoverished county magistrate could give him any valuable gifts. Seeing Ping Liaohou's expression, Kang Yingqian lowered his voice and said:
"Kong Lin."

~~~~~~~
Xu Hongru finally reached his end.

He and his last three hundred or so cronies were trapped in the Confucius Mansion by the Kaiyuan army.

This time, the Wen Xiang thugs did not set fire because they had no other way out and setting fire would be self-immolation.

Nearly ten thousand soldiers from the three thousand headquarters, together with some cavalry led by Burhanggu, surrounded the Confucius Mansion tightly, with three layers of siege from the inside to the outside.

Ping Liaohou issued a death order to the three captains, and no one in the Kong Mansion could be released, otherwise they would be subject to military law.

When the Wenxiang Sect broke into the Confucius Mansion, Duke Yansheng still maintained the demeanor of a teacher for all ages.

After all, the family traditions that have been passed down for thousands of years are not something that ordinary people can understand.

Duke Yansheng, with his big belly, personally visited Xu Hongru to express his loyalty to the desperate Emperor Zhongxingfu.

Kong Yanzhi said in good conscience that from now on he would immediately convert to the faith of Chen Tuan, the ancestor of the Mother of Mount Li. As he said this, he went to the ancestral hall to smash the statue of Confucius regardless of the servants' obstruction.

Duke Yansheng's act of returning to the right path and sacrificing his own relatives for the sake of justice conveys his infinite faith in the Mother of Mount Li and the Wenxiang Sect.

Xu Hongru was in tears and deeply moved by Duke Yansheng. He felt ashamed of himself. When he followed Wang Sen to believe in Xiangjiao, he was not so devout!

Dagui suddenly swung a big stick and hit the back of Yanshenggong's head. He did it out of kindness and wanted to help the emotionally out-of-control Kong Yanzhi to calm down.

"Damn it, they even want to smash the statue of Confucius. This is worse than the Smell of Fragrance Sect!"

"Take Mr. Kong to the backyard, tie him to a tree, and send someone to watch him closely. Don't let him die."

Xu Hongru knew he had nowhere to go, as the Kaiyuan soldiers were about to attack. The descendants of Confucius were just the right hostages.

In Xu Hongru's opinion, no one in the Ming Dynasty, from the emperor to the refugees, dared not give face to the Duke of Yansheng.

No matter how powerful Ping Liaohou was, could he compare to the emperor? Would he dare to touch a hair of Yanshenggong?
"Don't just focus on snatching women. Remember, protect Master Kong. He is our amulet now. We can't let him believe in the Wenxiang Sect. We can't let him go crazy like this again!"

"Once we've robbed the silver, we'll rush out with Master Kong to Hebei to find our brothers! We'll start all over again! We'll worship the Mother of Mount Li, eat big chunks of meat, and sleep with women!"

(End of this chapter)